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Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Moroccan Vegetable Couscous

I have these random jars of ingredients in the refrigerator that we don't use often enough and I'm trying to do my best to incorporate them into dishes. I spotted a half-used jar of red curry paste in the mix and we used a good portion of it up in tonight's dinner, Moroccan Vegetable Couscous, along with a few other pantry staples to boot!

This turned into one of those dishes that can be done in minutes with little prep, making for a great weeknight vegetarian-friendly recipe. For a saucy topping, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans if you like), a bit of vegetable broth, that red curry paste, and a bag of frozen vegetables (ours included broccoli, cauliflower and carrots) were all tossed together and left to simmer to warm the vegetables through. That's all they need to do - I do suggest you give them a taste or two along the way and adjust with the curry paste to taste. Start out with a little less if you like, then decide if you want a stronger presence.

The couscous is a snap to prepare, but we didn't just cook it in water. To give the tiny pearls a flavorful spark, I used vegetable broth as the liquid and also drizzled in a little fruity olive oil. Done in five minutes (speedy!) and fluffed up with a fork, the moist couscous was then mounded onto our plates, ready and waiting to soak in the warm juices from the impending (upcoming) vegetable topping. Before we scoop that over though, the vegetable mixture was given a squirt or two from a fresh lime to awaken the topping.

Finishing off the dish with a briny note, we scattered crumbles of white feta cheese over the top just before being served. If you don't have any feta on hand, a spoonful or two of thick Greek yogurt on top would be a nice, cooling compliment. You could use other colors of curry paste in this dish I imagine, especially yellow as it is quite fragrant, with less of the heat, if you are sensitive to that.